#  Karen Brennan 

 



   ![Karen Brennan](/sites/g/files/omnuum5186/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-02/kb_2024_07_23.jpg?itok=k1IcFxik) 

 

I am the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Practice in Learning Technologies at the [Harvard Graduate School of Education](https://www.gse.harvard.edu/), where I direct the [Creative Computing Lab](https://creativecomputing.gse.harvard.edu/), and an affiliate in [Computer Science](https://www.seas.harvard.edu/computer-science).

My research is primarily concerned with the design of learning experiences in K–12 computer science. My work is guided by two central commitments. First, I advocate for *constructionist* approaches to learning, where students build understanding through creating, directed by their own interests and supported by collaborative communities. Second, I deeply value the work of teachers in designing and supporting these learning experiences. My book with Sarah Blum-Smith, [*Start with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio*](https://startwithquestions.com/) (MIT Press, March 2026), brings these commitments together — exploring how K–12 teachers create the conditions for students to pursue projects and ideas that matter to them.

I completed my Ph.D. at the [MIT Media Lab](https://www.media.mit.edu/) in 2012, where I was a member of the [Lifelong Kindergarten](https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/lifelong-kindergarten/overview/) research group and the team that developed the [Scratch programming environment](https://scratch.mit.edu/).

You can learn more about my projects, publications, and current activities at the [Creative Computing Lab website](https://creativecomputing.gse.harvard.edu/) and in [my CV](https://kbrennan.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum5186/files/2026-02/Brennan_CV.pdf). You can contact me via email at [karen\_brennan@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:karen_brennan@gse.harvard.edu).